


Through the Looking Glass

by Pathologically_Bored



Category: Death Note
Genre: Basically all the characters from the series are mention somewhere here, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Second Person Perspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-08 15:36:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4310793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pathologically_Bored/pseuds/Pathologically_Bored
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You watch but you do not interfere. You cannot interfere. You are not a character in this story and thus don't have the right or the ability to influence the outcome. So that leaves the question of who are you. The answer is simple, you are the observer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through the Looking Glass

 

The first scene you witness is a strange, unfamiliar, world. It’s mostly dull grey and, if you had to choose just one single word to describe it, boring. Where you are is unknown to you, until you are told. Shinigami Realm. You don’t know what that means in regards to exactly where you are, but that is what where you are is called. 

You see the creatures. You somehow know which of these beings is the one who should have your attention. It is not any of the ones gambling. It is the one staring into the whirlpool of light.

“I dropped my notebook.” The only important words spoken. This is the start of something. But what?

Next you are pulled away from that scene and placed in a more familiar looking world. One which resembles yours. Maybe it is yours? Or maybe it’s one which runs parallel to yours and shares nothing but the scenery.

The boy sits in the classroom, a bored look on his face. His eyes look dead. Who is he and why is he important? You'll find out soon enough, don’t worry.

You follow the boy for a short time. Nothing appears to be happening. Why do you feel the need to stay with this person? And then, at exactly the same moment as the boy you see _it._ A notebook falling from the sky. And you know that the story has truly started.

But, who are you? None of the characters in this story will ask you this question because they are not even aware of your existence. What you are is not a character, you are more vital to this story being a story than any of the characters. You are the third person, the camera lens through which the audience can view the story. You are the omnipresent observer, peering through the looking glass, who knows all without knowing how or why you know any of it.

The characters thoughts are known only to the character thinking them and _you._ The scenes without any characters to view them, at least no living characters, are known to nobody and _you._ The important individual threads of detail which will eventually wind together as the story progresses, twisting, turning, eventually creating a single line of story which cannot be known to any single character are known to you. _Y_ _ou_ know them, _you_ know all of them.

If only you could reach into the narrative, warn the characters of what you know. But you can’t. You can scream at them all you wish but it is futile, they cannot see you, they cannot hear you. You do not exist in their world. You only observe.   

The boy has the notebook now. He thinks it’s a joke. You know it isn't.

You skip forward in time. 5 days later. The first meeting between the two characters you have focused on, the boy and the creature you now know is a Shinigami. Many things are discovered during this meeting. The boy has written the names of many people in the notebook.

You jump back in time to discover the first people the boy had killed. Criminals. You see the resulting mental and physical duress the boy brought upon himself due to it. Would you have intervened to stop the boy from writing in the book if you could?  

But there is nothing you can do, there was never anything you could have done. The observer cannot influence anything more than their own perception, the events which take place in the story are not under your control. How different would the interaction between story and observer be if the observer could determine the direction of the story? How wonderful that would be. How dangerous that would be. You could become the god of the story.

God of the new world. The boy, Light Yagami, has decided to become the god of the new world. You saw the thought process he went through to get here. And yet you struggle to say with any certainty how he managed to rationalise his actions to himself in a way which was so twisted. Maybe you don’t know as much as you originally thought? You don’t.  

And then you are in another county. A man whose face you cannot see sits behind a computer. He is another important character. Pay attention to him.

The boy continues writing. The world notices. Just like he wanted.

You are unsure whether you want to tell the authorities who the killer is. You know the boy better than the other side at the moment. What if he is doing the right thing and they are wrong for trying to stop him? You should not concern yourself with this. There is nothing you can do after all.

L is the name of the man with no face. He is investigating the case. Which side are you on? Who would you help if you could?

Kira is the new identity of the boy, or the identity of the person the boy created during the five day time jump where he rationalised his killing. Is this a new character or just a mask worn by the character you already know?

The game of chess which will stretch on for a long time between L and Kira begins. L even briefly tries, and maybe even succeeds for some, to trick the observer with a fake. His trick works on the other characters in the story though and that is all that matters.

You meet the rest of the boy’s family. You don’t know how relevant they are to the story at this point, but we know they matter to the boy.       

It’s like a game of chess where each player has a blind fold on. Or maybe the board game which would be a better analogy is battleships. Guesses based on intuition. Never knowing whether you are taking steps in the right direction until it’s too late to change your move.

The story travels along. You discover things about the notebook and the Shinigami at the same pace as the boy. This is frustrating as the observer. You should always know more than the characters, but the story isn't letting you. Eye deals, strange rules of the notebook. Why did you have to wait for the boy to find out about it before you did?

The boy’s morals have shifted. He’s now killing non-criminals in order to protect himself. The F.B.I. agents, the woman who could have destroyed him, all dead. You don’t know if the boy ever really cared about not killing non-criminals in the first place but Kira, the identity or the mask, doesn't. Anyone is fair game now. Whose side are you on now? Have your morals changed?

L is no longer the man without a face. His mannerisms are strange. He is definitely a threat to the boy. Do you wish you could tell him everything you know about the boy so that the detective can win? Or do you want to show his face to the boy so Kira can win? You can’t do either. You can’t do anything.

L’s moral high ground is falling fast. The cameras are installed. He is just as willing as the boy to ignore the law.

The rules of the game change again when the boy enters university. The two opponents meet face to face for the first time. We get to watch as the boy cracks. It’s the first time you have seen him laugh like that. It’s unnerving. He is not a stable as he wishes for the rest of the characters to believe he is. But he cannot hide his true state from you, he doesn’t know you are there. You wonder if you should feel as though you are being invasive. Are you not worse than the secret security cameras after all? But you do not feel as though you are witnessing anything you shouldn't be. You were invited to see this story.

A second Kira enters the story. Is she the boy’s greatest ally or a potential downfall? Only time will tell. The boy does not seem to like her very much, but she is the only human ally he has at this point. Does he not recognise that? Apparently he does.

The detective has lost any claim to the moral high ground. He has lost all right to claim that he stands for justice. You are disturbed by the confinement. Misa’s is worse than Light's. How he managed to get the police officers onside you don’t know. You wish you did.  

Both Kiras lose their memories. They can no longer be referred to as Kira, as they have lost that mask. They are simply the boy and the girl now. No other identity. You wonder what these people will be like. You have never seen the girl without hers and you barely knew the boy before he created his. But were they really masks you wonder. Or was that simply who they were given a new name. You will have to wait to find out. Not for long though.

The changes are immediately apparent. In the girl it is more subtle, she is still very similar. For the boy it is harder to say.

A new player enters the game to serve as the opponent. He appears to be playing against all pre-existing characters but we know he is simply filling in for the absent Kira. He takes up the name, he takes up the mask, though it is a different mask. That is how he is noticed eventually, killing for business, but we have not reached that point in the story yet.

Given the memory state of the boy and the authorisation of the fake execution, the detective appears to have surrendered all pretence of holding the moral high ground. You are conflicted now. Whose side are you on? Is the boy on the same side as the detective now? Is there an easy way out of your dilemma, can you help both of the characters at the same time? You do not care about this new Kira, they are unfamiliar in nature and unsympathetic as a character.

The handcuff chain is… strange. It doesn't appear to be the best move the detective could have chosen, however you find it amusing as the observer. If this story was a different genre this is the part in which a love triangle would form. It is the girl who first brings to attention this possibility. You wonder if she may be right. After all even in your position as observer you are not omnipotent. You wonder how much you have missed, how much you will continue to miss. You still find this entire set up entertaining.  

The characters do not share your amusement.

The investigation into the new Kira ambles on. Hindered by lack of trust, frustration, low motivation on the part of the detective, and being cut off from the support of the police. A team member leaves, two more are added. Due to help from the two most unlikely sources, the girl who used to be Kira and the ex-police officer usually responsible for menial tasks, they are able to find the current Kira.  

The boy who has forgotten that he is Kira is beginning to question himself. Do you want him to figure it out? Or would you prefer that he stays ignorant of his past? It doesn't matter. You can’t do anything.

The new Kira is caught.

“It’s over.”

You don’t know if you believe those words, there are too many lose ends. Do you want it to be over? If everything ends here there could be an ending in which the characters are close to happy. But that would mean the story is over and you would have to leave. You are only invited to observe for the duration of the story, beyond that is none of your concern. Do you want to leave the story like this? Your question is answered for you. The boy regains his memories, just as he had planned, and the plot continues on. You can’t do anything to stop it.

The detective is dead. The boy has won. Is this the outcome you wanted? What you want is irrelevant. The story does not care about the opinion of its observer. It will stay on its course no matter what you want. You can’t do anything. You are powerless.     

The time jumps forward. You last saw the characters at the end of 2004, now it is late 2009. That is a lot of time to miss, so much could have happened and you are allowed to know very little of it.

The boy can no longer be seen as a boy, he has grown too much for that, he is an adult now. But other than the transition from boy to man what else has changed? He has the same face, the same family, the same body, but is this really still the same person we saw years ago? Of course for you it was not years, the time passed in mere seconds.

Two new opponents have joined the game for the man to play against. He does not know this yet, but you do. Who are they? Do you want to be on their side or do you want to support the characters you know? You should hold off on making any rash judgements.

The man’s sister is taken by one of the new opponents. Does this make you choose a side?

The man speaks to the other new opponent. Have you taken a side?

Pieces continue to move around the board. The man who used to be a boy is not the same as we had known him. He has changed. He has many masks now. He has to change them regularly. He is L, he is Watari, he is Kira, is he still Light? Around his family he wears the mask of the Light who used to exist but if it is the truth or a mask you don’t know. Why has he changed so much? Maybe it’s the power, maybe it was the lack of opposition, we did not see, we cannot know. All we can do is speculate. Does his change cause you to choose a side?  

There is so much collateral damage. The sister is hurting. People are dead. Do you even want to take a side?

The man sacrifices his father. You think you might briefly see through the mask, but you are uncertain. What good would taking a side do anyway?

The man’s opponents are not a cohesive group. They also must deal with infighting. But they are an impressive team nevertheless. They may win the game.

A new man enters the game. We see his back story, we understand his motive. He believes Kira is God. Do you agree with him? Probably not.

A new woman enters the game. You have seen her before but thought she wasn't important. You should not be so quick to make judgement calls about who is or isn't important.

The new opponents discover the existence of the new man and the new woman. They are in danger. Do you care about them? If it were possible would you be willing to step in to help them? At this point does it even matter? It doesn't.

The new woman is kidnapped by one of the new opponents. And then suddenly she is dead. And he is dead. And there is fire. You can do nothing but watch.

The game is drawing to a close. The remaining players are making their choices and moving into place. Are they making the right moves? You do not know. Who do you want to win? Do you know?

You are in a warehouse now. Everybody is here, but nobody knows that you are here. They act, you watch. They speak, you listen. They make the moves which will determine their fates, you do nothing. The surviving opponent wears the mask of the original opponent. You wonder if this is just. So many people have worn the mask of L by this point. Maybe even the original was a mask in the first place. When you think about it, how much did you know about him? How much do you truly know about any of these characters?

Kira has lost. He has dropped all his masks. You are disturbed by what is underneath. Instability, insanity. Was this who he truly was the whole time or was this something he became in the face of impending defeat?

He believes he is God. Do you believe him?

The opponent believes he is just a murderer. Do you believe him?

The Shinigami is here. He writes a name in his notebook, the name which will cause this story to end. Light Yagami. The name is written and with that you know that the game has drawn to a close. You know who has won. You know who has lost. You could not have intervened even if you had wanted to.  

Are you satisfied? It does not matter, the story has ended and now you have to leave.  

  

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi.  
> If you've made it all the way to the end notes I thank you so much for spending the time to read this.  
> This really only exists because I got frustrated with editing a longer story I'm working on and I needed to brush up on the canon anyway so I used it as an excuse to write this. I hope you liked it.  
> If you the time could you let me know what you think of it?  
> Other than that I don't have anything else to add except to say thank you again.  
> Until next time.


End file.
